The present invention relates to video capture and coding techniques.
Video distribution systems include a video source and at least one receiving device. The video content may be distributed over a network, such as broadcast television, Over The Top (OTT) delivery, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), etc., or over fixed media, such as Blu-ray, DVDs, etc. To keep complexity and cost low, video content is typically limited in dynamic range, e.g., 8-10 bit signal representations and 4:2:0 color format.
Recent advances in video capture and display technology, however, have opened the door for the use of more sophisticated content, including content characterized as High Dynamic Range (HDR). High Dynamic Range content is essentially characterized by an increased dynamic range, which is described as the ratio between the largest and smallest possible values that are represented in the signal. For video content, in particular, there is an interest in supporting content that can have values as small as 0.005 nits (cd/m2), where the nit unit is a metric used to measure/specify luminance, up to 10000 nits in the entertainment space, whereas in other academic and scientific spaces lower and higher values are also of interest.
However, although video capture and display technologies may be capable of dealing with video data at a high dynamic range, the encoder and decoder technology may be limited to a certain bit depth. For example, encoder limitations may eliminate much of the value of capturing higher quality video data. Additionally, network bandwidth may limit the amount of data that can efficiently be transmitted between source and receiving devices.
Therefore, the inventors perceived a need in the art for an improved data capture and encoding process capable of handling higher quality content that results in an improved quality of encoded high dynamic range video data compared to conventional encoders.